The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1553

Chapter 1553 Sharpening Teeth

The next morning, Ves and Gloriana met during breakfast but separated shortly afterwards.

Ves still needed to tour more sites before he was ready to tackle work.

Though Gloriana enjoyed accompanying her boyfriend, she didn't intend to spend all of her time with him. She still needed to study, perform research and manage her own affairs.

"I'll be supervising the installation of my lab and workshop equipment." She told him once they were ready to depart. "After that, we'll meet again when you convene your design team, right?"

Ves calmly nodded. "It's not much of a design team. So far, I only have Ketis. I've also been informed that a couple of teenage Larkinsons will be joining us as well. They're the seeds the Larkinsons have selected to learn from my hip. Please treat them well."

"I understand, but Ves, a good mech designer isn't so easy to raise. I don't mean to insult your relatives, but..."

"You don't have to couch your words to me." He spoke. "I know very well that the odds that they'll advance to Journeyman is exceedingly small. I'm not looking to turn them into my successors, though. It's already sufficient for them to become capable Apprentices that can assist me in my work or provide the Larkinsons with at least some measure of financial continuity."

The Larkinsons did not have a tradition of raising mech designers, so Ves did not expect too much from the seeds his family selected. Regardless if they possessed spiritual potential or not, as long as they possessed the right attitudes, he was willing to tutor them from time to time.

Of course, Ves couldn't teach them too much at their young age. The best he could do was to prepare them well enough that they would be able to apply for the best mech design universities in the region.

Not the Ansel University of Mech Design, though. Anything but Ansel.

If the Bright Republic successfully survived the current crisis, then Ves would recommend them to the Dorum Center of Technology and Innovation. With his connections, he could get a stupid pig accepted as a mech design student.

Well, that was for later.

Ves and Gloriana kissed before they went their separate ways. Clixie, Melody and her bodyguards followed after their lady while Nitaa and Lucky accompanied their lord.

As they boarded a shuttle, the vehicle lifted off and flew towards the Mech Nursery. Some aerial mechs of the Sentinels surrounded the shuttle while a couple of landbound mechs of the Avatars followed on the ground.

"What do you think so far of the people you've met at the Cloud Estate and the Mech Nursery?" He asked Nitaa.

"So far, I haven't detected anyone who holds malice against you, sir."

"What does your nose tell you?"

"All of the people we've met on this planet are not involved with the cult as far as I know."

Ves nodded, though he didn't blindly accept her judgement. What if an agent of a splinter organization of the Five Scrolls Compact embedded some spies and informers within his company?

Unless they possessed extraordinary powers like Nitaa, detecting them was incredibly hard!

He left the vital role of identifying spies and informers to Crindon. In his capacity as Captain of the Virtual Security Department, Crindon wouldn't have to conduct his search alone.

Considering how Flashlight operated, Ves knew for sure they inserted at least dozens of spies in his company.

While Ves did not intend to expose them or root them out, he still wanted to identify them. It was better to know and not do anything about it than remaining ignorant he could ill afford it. Doubtlessly, many other organizations may have planted their spies in his workforce as well.

It was one thing to tolerate an informer like Gavin or in the LMC, but it would be devastating if a spy managed to slip into the ranks of his Avatars of Myth!

"Do you have any other concerns, Nitaa?"

"I do, sir. I have been speaking with some of the bodyguards of the Glory Battalion as well as some of your other guards. You are making a lot of waves lately. This also means you are making many people upset. Now that you are making very large moves, I'm afraid the people who lose out will resort to drastic measures to stop you from doing more damage."

Ves scratched his chin. "You're right. I can't avoid disturbing others, but I enjoy a sufficient amount of protection from my backers. The Bright Republic is on my side. Gloriana and by extension her Glory Battalion is on my side. Calabast is on my side. If that isn't enough, I can count on the Avatars of Myth and Living Sentinels to foil any assassination attempts."

"You are sending out the majority of your Avatars and many of your Sentinels to fight the sandmen." Nitaa pointed out. "This reduces your security, especially when you are separated from Gloriana. To be frank, I highly prefer it if you remain with her as much as possible. While the Glory Battalion is tasked to protect her first, they will eliminate any threat that targets you because Gloriana would also be at risk."

Depending on his girlfriend's bodyguards to protect him put a sour taste in his mouth. Wasn't it his intention to cultivate the Avatars of Myth into an elite second-class mech force?

Even if the Avatars became capable enough to fend off all local threats, what if some donkey from the Hegemony or the Coalition decided that Ves had to be wiped out?

The backing and protection he currently enjoyed only shielded him against third-class threats. For the rest, he needed to depend on his girlfriend, which deeply unsatisfied him. The Glory Battalion obviously wouldn't risk their lives for Ves alone.

"I can only depend on something I can build myself!"

He needed to elevate the Avatars into a second-class mech force as soon as possible!

His shuttle arrived at the Mech Nursery a brief moment later. As he entered into the range of the aura of a Desolate Soldier installed as a display model, he took the time to admire the mech for a moment.

"Very adequate." Ves nodded in satisfaction. "It's not entirely flawless, though."

The mech technicians of the LMC had done their best to fabricate the mech without his personal guidance. The Desolate Soldier was a very simple mech design to begin with, and Ves already transmitted detailed fabrication plans to the company.